Innovations that demonstrated the most promising solutions to address the causes of maternal and newborn deaths in hard-to-reach, low-resource settings were nominated tonight for award at the Saving Lives at Birth DevelopmentXChange at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The nominees will now enter into final negotiations before awards can be issued.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Jeffrey Ashley was sworn in as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission Director for the East Africa Regional Mission based in Nairobi, Kenya. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah presided at the event and administered the oath of office to Dr. Ashley.

Today, Banque Centrale de Tunisie (CBT), acting on behalf of the Republic of Tunisia, closed on its offering of a $485 million sovereign bond, guaranteed by the United States of America, acting through the U.S. Agency for International Development. This guarantee reinforces the strong U.S. commitment to the people of Tunisia by strengthening the Government of Tunisia’s ability to manage the transition to an economically sound and prosperous democracy. The closing of this loan guarantee marks the conclusion of an accelerated process that U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Tunisian Finance Minister Houcine Dimassi affirmed last April 20, 2012, when they signed a declaration of intent committing both sides to proceed as quickly as possible on this program.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and fellow founding partners NASA, the U.S. Department of State, and NIKE, Inc. announced today the nine innovators selected to participate in their LAUNCH: Beyond Waste challenge. LAUNCH is a unique program that aims to identify and accelerate solutions to the world's most urgent sustainability challenges. The current program cycle is focused on waste, and the finalists were chosen for their groundbreaking technologies and programs that address a broad range of waste issues, including waste-to-energy, agricultural waste and conservation, medical waste, sustainable chemicals and materials, and improved sanitation.

Award shared by Voilà’s T-Cash and Digicel’s TchoTcho Mobile recognizes the dynamic progress in the usage of mobile money

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today that two of Haiti’s mobile network operators, Digicel and Voilà, will share a $3.2 million (U.S) award from the Haiti Mobile Money Initiative (HMMI) for reaching the five million transaction milestone and meeting the award program’s requirements. This is the final award in the $10 million incentive fund that was initiated in June 2010.

USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah will travel to London on July 11, 2012 to speak at the London Summit on Family Planning, convened by the Government of the United Kingdom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Agency on International Development (USAID) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have jointly announced a new grant program called Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) Health to help end preventable child deaths in developing countries.

On June 28 at noon, USAID will release its “Crowdsourcing” data report and case study during an event at the Woodrow Wilson Center. On June 1-3, the Agency launched it’s first-ever crowdsourcing initiative to pinpoint the location of USAID Development Credit Authority (DCA) loan data.

Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) swore in Peter Malnak as its new Mission Director for Rwanda. In Rwanda, USAID's work supports health and education services for a fast-growing population, economic growth opportunities, agricultural production and food security, human rights and good governance, and environmental protection.

Today at the 95th annual Lions Clubs International Convention in Busan, South Korea, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Lions Clubs International (LCI) launched a new partnership aimed at promoting literacy around the world. This partnership will:

Innovative Competition Acts as Catalyst for Business Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At the second African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM II), 17 U.S.-based entrepreneurs were awarded matching grants to fund innovative business plans and promote economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. The grants will match ADM winners’ own funds to support growth of their businesses.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are pleased to announce USAID’s foreign assistance obligation and expenditure data is now available on the Foreign Assistance Dashboard (www.foreignassistance.gov).

Today,Jonathan Conly was sworn in as the new U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director for Pakistan. USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah presided over the ceremony and administered the oath in the presence of family, friends, colleagues, members of the Pakistani-American community and the Embassy of Pakistan’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Dr. Asad Majeed Khan. As Mission Director for Pakistan, Conly will be responsible for managing USAID’s second-largest assistance program with the objective of supporting the development of an economically vibrant, secure and stable Pakistan that promotes peace and security in South and Southwest Asia.

USAID Administrator Raj Shah visited Yemen June 19-21 and announced plans to provide up to $52 million dollars in additional assistance to Yemen, which would bring the total humanitarian and development assistance this year to $170 million dollars. On June 21st, Administrator Shah and U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein traveled to Zinjibar where they met with local government officials and humanitarian organizations to discuss the importance of delivering critical humanitarian assistance, restoring civilian authority and essential public services, and rebuilding war-torn infrastructure.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) holds its third annual Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Forum in Washington, DC on June 21-22, convening this year at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will hold its third annual Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Forum at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC June 21-22, 2012.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Raj Shah arrived in Sana&rsquo;a Tuesday night for his first visit to Yemen. Administrator Shah, accompanied by Mara Rudman, Assistant Administrator for the Middle East, will meet with President Hadi, Foreign Minister al-Qirbi, government counterparts, private sector and civil society leaders, international donors, and humanitarian and development officials to support the Government of Yemen and the Yemeni people during&nbsp; this time of transition.

USAID and The Western Union Company Host African Diaspora Marketplace II

From June 22-23, approximately 40 entrepreneurs will compete for an investment of up to $70,000 in their business at the African Diaspora Marketplace (ADM) II. The marketplace competition showcases promising and innovative ideas for businesses that can create employment and strengthen trade in emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The program also supports U.S.-based African diaspora members in giving back to their home communities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Ford Foundation, and Independent Television Service (ITVS) is announcing a Global Development Alliance (GDA), in partnership with CARE USA, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide.